Mike Pompeo is the only person in American history to have served as both CIA director and secretary of state.
A West Point graduate who finished first in his class, a Harvard Law Review editor and a former manufacturing entrepreneur, he served under US President Donald Trump and was one of the architects of the Abraham Accords. His memoir is titled Never Give an Inch.
Speaking to Manus Cranny in New York, days after attending Senator Lindsey Graham's funeral in Washington, where Benjamin Netanyahu also met with Mr Trump, Mr Pompeo does not characterise the conflict as a Middle East war. He calls it a global one, tying Iran, China and Russia into a single axis.
On this episode of The Inside Brief, Mr Pompeo explains why he believes the Gulf states will ultimately join the US in delivering a decisive blow to Iran's military capabilities, why economic pressure is already visibly degrading life inside Iran, even if the outside world cannot see it, and what a realistic roadmap to ending the conflict looks like.
Mr Pompeo also addresses the Netanyahu-Trump relationship, the prospect of regime change in Iran, the Abraham Accords as a model for post-war Gulf unity, and whether a two-state solution is remotely realistic today.
He closes with what he considers the single greatest risk beyond the Gulf: Western civilisation losing confidence in itself.
The Inside Brief with Manus Cranny is available on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and other major platforms.
![A damaged car and a damaged building are seen at the site of a strike in Bartalla in the northern Iraqi Nineveh province on July 29, 2026. US-Saudi strikes on Iraq on July 29 killed at least 20 members of a former paramilitary alliance that includes pro-Iran groups, the alliance said. The United States and Saudi Arabia said they had struck Iran-backed militants in Iraq in response to attacks on US forces and Saudi oil facilities. (Photo by Zaid AL-OBEIDI / AFP) / Attention editors: AFP covers the war in the Middle East through its extensive regional network, including bureaus in Tehran, Jerusalem and several neighboring countries. Since the start of the conflict, journalists have been working under increasingly restrictive conditions. Authorities in several countries have limited reporters’ movements, photo and live video coverage from sensitive locations. Some governments and armed groups have banned images of missile or drone strikes and other security-related sites. / “The erroneous mention[s] appearing in the metadata of this photo by Ziad OBEID has been modified in AFP systems in the following manner: corrects byline [Zaid AL-OBEIDI] instead of [Ziad OBEID]. Please immediately remove the erroneous mention[s] from all your online services and delete it (them) from your servers. If you have been authorized by AFP to distribute it (them) to third parties, please ensure that the same actions are carried out by them. Failure to promptly comply with these instructions will entail liability on your part for any continued or post notification usage. Therefore we thank you very much for all your attention and prompt action. We are sorry for the inconvenience this notification may cause and remain at your disposal for any further information you may require. ”](https://www.thenationalnews.com/resizer/v2/PLSC2TSQZTFNYGSCPBJVUPIB2I.jpg?smart=true&auth=b0d3bd2d2b21bfcd8f9d5a89db763ef91727ee31e46f2bd5651027a66d97a8f5&width=188&height=104)
